International analyst Geoffrey Miller reflects on the impact that the September 11 attacks had on New Zealand’s foreign policy This week’s anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001 is also an opportunity to recall the impact the tragedy – and the response to it – had on New Zealand’s wider …
International analyst Geoffrey Miller says New Zealand’s latest Covid-19 outbreak has once again delayed the country’s return to top-level face-to-face diplomacy – but this comes at a cost New Zealand’s new outbreak of Covid-19 has also stalled an attempt to restart the country’s top-level diplomatic engagement. Given the Delta variant’s spread in Auckland, a rumoured …
This week’s hard-hitting report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was a reminder of the influential and inspirational role the United Nations can play. The UN’s Secretary General, António Guterres, called the new assessment – which predicts average global temperatures will be 1.5 degrees warmer by 2040 than they were in the pre-industrial …
As the Tokyo Olympics come to an end, Geoffrey Miller analyses the state of New Zealand’s wider relationship with Japan – and says that a very successful partnership may be about to become a lot more complicated. As New Zealand’s very successful Olympic campaign in Tokyo draws to a close, it’s easy to be …
Geoffrey Miller looks over the lessons from the special APEC summit Today’s special virtual APEC summit was so modest in its aims that it was officially referred to only as an ‘informal leaders’ retreat on Covid-19’. From the outset, host Jacinda Ardern dampened down expectations for the meeting, warning reporters not to expect any significant …
Jacinda Ardern has delivered a keynote speech on foreign policy. Geoffrey Miller reads between the lines. It was about APEC. And the Indo-Pacific. But most of all, it was about China. Jacinda Ardern’s keynote foreign policy address on Wednesday – at the annual conference of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA) in …
What is New Zealand’s most important role in a quickly changing geopolitical world? It could be mediating between China and the West, according to international analyst Geoffrey Miller. A keynote speech by Jacinda Ardern next week will set the tone for a busy few months of foreign policy activity, culminating in NZ’s virtual hosting of …
This week New Zealand was officially pronounced the second most peaceful nation on earth – just behind Iceland – in the publication of the annual Global Peace Index. New Zealand’s high “peacefulness” score was based on the country’s low amount of violence, conflict and terrorism. However, New Zealand was marked down in the results this …
International analyst Geoffrey Miller previews this weekend’s Otago Foreign Policy School This weekend’s Otago Foreign Policy School will be another chance for foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta to explain the Labour Government’s foreign policy agenda. The Dunedin conference has been held annually since 1966, except for last year, when it was cancelled amidst uncertainty over Covid-19. …
International analyst Geoffrey Miller explains why Benjamin Netanyahu’s ousting from power and the formation of a new coalition government in Jerusalem may be a chance for New Zealand to make a fresh start in its relationship with Israel This month’s formation of a new coalition government in Israel may be a chance for New Zealand …
New Zealanders’ hostility towards China is growing rapidly – but the worst may be still ahead. International analyst Geoffrey Miller examines the latest survey results on how this country feels about China. The latest “Perceptions of Asia” survey from the Asia New Zealand Foundation, released today, shows a sharp rise in the number of New …
While New Zealand’s problematic but lucrative relationship with China gets lots of attention, there’s another important and similar relationship with Saudi Arabia that receives less interest. International analyst Geoffrey Miller explains why Riyadh is too important for Wellington to ignore. New Zealand’s new ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Barney Riley, has his work cut out for …
New Zealand’s evolving foreign policy – especially with China – is put under the microscope by international analyst Geoffrey Miller, who says it’s important to consider the wider trends and not just the latest twist in the story. This week’s meeting between Jacinda Ardern and Scott Morrison in Queenstown was yet another opportunity to judge …
The level of orchestration and political acting was turned up a notch this week in Queenstown by prime ministers Jacinda Ardern and Scott Morrison, who went to great pains to put on a highly contrived united front about their different orientations towards China. Clearly, both leaders were highly sensitive to the danger of the escalating …
Is New Zealand navigating the China-West, politics-trade relationship in a craven way? Increasingly that seems to be the view from overseas, and especially Australia. This critique was boiled down to its essence in last night’s Australian Channel 9 18-minute documentary, “Kiwis might fly”, which you can watch on Youtube here: Dollars VS Decency: Is China …
New Zealand’s foreign minister is ruffling feathers. International analyst Geoffrey Miller explores Nanaia Mahuta’s orientation to her job, Beijing, and Belarus. Nanaia Mahuta’s comments on China in a Guardian interview this week brought a veiled rebuke from Beijing – and a new wave of international headlines. It was a fresh reminder that the foreign minister’s …
This week’s Budget has more than just financial accounts. International analyst Geoffrey Miller delves into what the allocations say about the direction of foreign policy under the new ministers. There are some new clues to be found in the Budget that illustrate the foreign affairs and trade agenda of the Labour Government, under new …
So far, the New Zealand Government has been remarkably silent about the Gaza-Israel conflict. Geoffrey Miller argues that Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta could be helping meditate for peace. The growing Gaza crisis is testing Nanaia Mahuta’s recent assertion that New Zealand has an independent foreign policy. The conflict between Israel and Hamas-controlled Gaza could be …
Jacinda Ardern’s speech at the China Business Summit was a crowd-pleaser. Geoffrey Miller explains its role in the “rebalancing” of New Zealand’s orientation to China and the West. For critics who believed she had gone soft on China, Jacinda Ardern’s line that differences between China and New Zealand were becoming “harder to reconcile” will be …
A new analysis by the Democracy Project of Nanaia Mahuta’s public statements and tweets over the past six months reveals some intriguing initial insights into her foreign policy agenda. By the end of Wednesday this week, Nanaia Mahuta had made 31 formal statements or speeches on foreign affairs in her time as minister. On Twitter, …
This Sunday marks the six-month anniversary of Nanaia Mahuta’s appointment as foreign minister. Geoffrey Miller looks at how she is grappling with some fundamental geopolitical challenges. In just her first six months, Nanaia Mahuta has already achieved something remarkable. She is arguably New Zealand’s highest-profile foreign minister in decades – and all without even leaving …